The Internet Yami-ichi

I’m a member of IDPW, a “secret society” of internet artists and experimenters. Its most popular project is the Internet Yami-ichi—a flea market where people buy and sell “internet-ish” things in real life. Examples include stones with 3D data, transparent GIFs, and cookies you can actually eat.

The concept is open-source: with a few simple rules, anyone can organize one. Since starting in Tokyo in 2012, the Yami-ichi has spread to 30 cities across five continents, with more than 40 events held worldwide. It has even been exhibited at the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung, further highlighting its cultural impact.

My contributions included designing the logo, producing the documentary Back Street of the Internet, and selling my own works—such as the “Stone Age Mouse Pointer,” arrowheads carved from real obsidian, along with many other tongue-in-cheek creations.

In 2022, we marked the 10th anniversary with an 800-page book, A Decade to Download, documenting over 200 vendors and a decade of creativity. True to the Yami-ichi spirit, the book was treated as “data” exchanged in physical form: at 1.15 GB as a PDF, it became almost 4 kilograms as a book—literally one of the heaviest downloads ever. The book won the RGB Prize at the Tokyo TDC Annual Awards, cementing the Yami-ichi as a landmark in internet culture.